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1.31.2012

Continuing the glittery pink + gold Valentines theme, impress your party guests with a Pink Grapefruit Martini. These swanky cocktails are the perfect shade of pale pink, and are completely delicious with or without alcohol. To make your martinis extra special...

- Modernize a basic martini glass by painting a gold trim around the base. Metallic gold craft paint works great and is generally non-toxic.

- Make your glasses sparkle by adding a dash of gold luster dust to white sugar. Use your finger to swipe water around the rim, then dip in the sugar mixture.

- To create glittery stir sticks, use a heart shaped punch or stencil on glitter sticker paper (found at your local craft or scrapbooking store). Sandwich hearts together over half of a wooden skewer.

1.30.2012

I’m over at One Charming Party this week featuring my Valentine’s day collaboration with Michele of Cakewalk Baking.
We’ll be sharing even more unique ideas here, so be sure to check in
on both sites for some beautiful pink + gold glittered projects all
week long. We're so excited about this one and hope you find the
perfect
inspiration for your Valentines Day, or even for a glamorous bridal or
baby shower.

Let's kick things off with a freebie, shall we? Valentines Day is the perfect time to send a handwritten note. Whether you prefer traditional hearts or modern arrows, with these darling printable notecards and stickers you can send a sweet message to all the loves in your life.

Tips:
- Print notecards on heavy cardstock in ivory or cream. Each
card is 3x5 when cut.
- Circles can be printed on 8.5x11 whole sheet sticker
labels (or on cardstock to make favor tags) and punched with a 2”
circle punch.
- To add a little sparkle: glue over your heart and
sprinkle with glitter, or toss some heart shaped confetti in your
envelope for a shimmering surprise.

1.26.2012

After an absurdly long hiatus, Mad Men is finally returning to AMC on March 25th. If you're anticipating the new season with as much giddy excitement as I am, you're certain to be inspired by this party. The ladies of Dulce Sobremesa put together a small + glitzy Mad Men inspired affair for a friend's 25th birthday. The retro colors, polka dot pattern, and festive props are the perfect touches to bring out a swanky retro vibe. Kinda puts me in the mood for a martini...

1.25.2012

I designed these printables for the lovely Jordan of Polka Dot Prints while she's away spending time with her beautiful new baby girl...

Every new mama has heard the advice 'sleep while the baby sleeps', but with so many people (big + small) crying out for your attention, sometimes a nap begins to feel like an impossibility. I designed these door hangers as a little gift to Jordan during her maternity leave, and for all moms who could use some serious R+R.

Simply print the file onto heavy cardstock, cut and hang over your door knob- either on your front door to warn off guests that unexpectedly drop by, or outside your bedroom and nursery to remind your family to keep the volume down during naptime. Hope you enjoy... and finally get the rest you deserve.

From Little Miss Party: Colette’s mom wanted the party to feel
soft, vintage and feminine and since the party was in the beginning of
January (when it usually is cold and snowy), we loved the idea of using
muted pink, soft gold, ivory and burlap brown for the color story. Above the food station our source of decor was a really pretty
bunting made out of many strips of fabric. We spent an
afternoon at Mood
in the garment district picking out fabrics that were unique in
texture, pattern and color making this banner different and interesting
against the large wrought iron windows that fit in so perfectly with the
vibe of this party. We also thought it would be fun to spruce up the
winter crudite by
serving in glass cubes that I covered with burlap fabric and decorated
with pretty ribbon. Above the bar we set a string of photos of the birthday
gal. Traci loves Coke so I thought it would be really cute to
get some of the
old school bottles to set out on a wood tray and they were a hit. We
also set out vintage looking milk bottles for the kids with C’s and 1′s
tied with ribbon around each. We had some fun with the coffee station as
well spicing up the design on our cups and serving hot cocoa for what
we thought would be a cold winter’s day. Last but certainly not least –
dessert. This table was my favorite. So
clean and pretty looking. We also took fabric and draped it over the stairs that we used for
gifts. This was a perfect way to keep the kids from climbing up to the
deck and trying to escape from the 13th floor of this loft…not to
mention looked very pretty! The party was timed nicely, the music flowed throughout and the guests
truly seemed to enjoy themselves. Most importantly, our guest of honor
Colette was happy and looked to have a smashing time at her first
birthday party.

1.23.2012

I’m back! Did you miss me? Before we get back to blog business as usual, I wanted to share just a hint of my experience at Alt Summit with you. This trip was essentially a week of college for design bloggers, and I mean that in all of the best possible ways. Some of my online acquaintances have become dear friends and I’ve returned home with invaluable networking connections, a new perspective and a wealth of information (not to mention some pretty amazing swag… yeah, I’m talking about you Epiphanie bags). I’m going to need more time to process it all, but for those of you who are interested, here are my top 10 takeaways from the trip:

1. Your most valuable connections might get made while you’re 30,000 feet in the air, or waiting in line for the ladies room. Always, always be prepared.

2. Using the manual settings on your camera makes all the difference in the world. No more denial. Photography classes begin next week.

3. As a whole, design bloggers are an insanely generous and welcoming group. Also, we sure do love us some stripes + ballet flats.

4. Your roommates can be your best source of motivation, inspiration and advice.... totally worth the messy hotel room.

5. You can increase or decrease the size of a brush tool in Photoshop just by using the bracket keys. Doh... thanks Ollibird.

6. Publishing a book is not nearly as lucrative, profitable or even fun as one might think. But it sure does come with some good street cred.

1.17.2012

Hurray! My bags are packed with sequins and my business cards are dressed up + ready to go. I'm leaving tomorrow for Altitude Design Summit and I couldn't be more excited. I'll be spending the next four days learning, networking and meeting the very people who have inspired this blog to become. Oh, and then there's that little matter of my discussion group, which I can't dwell on too much because I'll bite off my nails from nerves. I can't wait to return home with loads of fresh motivation... the perfect way to kickstart a new year. Wish me luck!

Of course, you'll be attending Alt with me this week, I'd love to meet you in person. Drop me a line or send a tweet to @cakeeventsblog.

1.11.2012

You know how sometimes a beautiful photo of food catches you in the right mood and you feel like you might faint if you don't have some right.now? When I saw this cake at with butter...always, I melted. I haven't gotten a chance to make it yet, but my mind is completely preoccupied with visions of lemon and poppyseed... as in 'Wait, what was that you were saying? No, I'm sorry, my head is filled with cake right now'.

1.03.2012

Hello again + hurray for 2012! I found this art installation completely brilliant and metaphoric for the start of a new year. It begins with a clean slate... a pure white room. Over the course of two weeks, the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane handed out thousands of colored dot stickers to children, who were invited to collaborate in the transformation of the space, turning a contrived living area into a vibrant explosion of color.

My hope is that by year's end we all find our opportunity to grow and shine just this brightly.